EUROPE'S biggest electrical engineering group, ABB, which has a plant in Ellesmere Port, is to cut about 12,000 jobs at its sites across the world.

There is speculation that up to 1,000 of these could be axed at locations in the UK.

But a spokesman for the Swiss-Swedish group said it was too early to say exactly where the axe might fall.

The group, formerly known as Asea Brown Boveri, announced it was cutting 8% of all staff as it turned in first-half profits well below expected levels.

These have dropped to $262m ­ down 21% on the same period last year.

ABB employs about 8,000 people across the UK.

The Ellesmere Port site in Rossmore Road East manufactures power capacitors and systems for various electrical applications.

Nobody at the plant was available to deal with media enquiries.

But a Press spokesman at the group's Zurich headquarters said: 'This is a global programme of job losses and we are still carrying out an analysis of how it will be applied.

'What action is taken really depends on particular businesses. It is not necessarily the case there will be cuts at every centre.'

ABB president and chief executive Joergen Centerman has said: 'Our results reflect uncertainty in the investment climate as the US slowdown spreads into Europe and Asia, yet our underlying operational performance is improving.'